Izzy has been a bit congested the last couple of days. She snores like an old man and hasn’t been sleeping well. She won’t let me wipe her nose and she has a near constant stream flowing out. I’ve tried to suction it out, but she HATES it. To my surprise, she tried to operate the Brain Sucker on her own this morning.

I’m still on the fence about taking her Trick or Treating tonight. I don’t want her cold to get worse or have her pick up H1N1 because she’s already run down.

Also, this explains the nose picking from a couple of days ago. I think she was already getting a tickle in her sinus cavaties.

We went down to Arata Pumpkin Farm today. I wanted to start a Halloween tradition with Izzy by picking out pumpkins at a real pumpkin farm. We picked Arata Pumpkin Farm because their website said they had a pig in their petting zoo. We really wanted Izzy to meet a pig since it was the first animal sound she learned to make. Unfortunately, the pig is no longer a resident. The woman selling pumpkins was a little offended when I asked her if he was Christmas dinner last year. Izzy still had fun with the slightly aggressive goats. In fact, she learned how to say “goat” today.

There was a lot to do at Arata Farm in a surprisingly small space. You could rent out picnic areas, there was a small train ride, a hay ride, haunted house, hay bale maze, sword fighting show, bounce house, barbecue. You name it, they had it. Except for clean bathrooms. They didn’t have those.

We walked around the property a bit after the petting zoo and took some amazing photos of our beautiful kid.

Izzy spent several minutes trying to move and pick up this pumpkin.

When she got really frustrated, I helped her find a pumpkin just her size.

Here’s Izzy and her Children of the Corn moment.

Awesome family day out and about.

Man, we need to get a modeling contract for this kid. She looks really commercial in this photo, but I think she has the potential for high fashion. Look at her eyes! She’s smizing. Tyra would be proud.

We were walking around the pumpkin farm, and I was thinking to myself…You know what this place really needs? A giant metal, rust covered gorilla. And like I said earlier, this place has EVERYTHING (except clean bathrooms)!

We stopped by the bounce house when we first arrived and tossed Izzy in there. She wasn’t interested, so we pulled her back out. There was a climbing structure with slides and bridges that she was more interested in, so we took her to that instead. Later into our visit, we went back to the bounce house and threw her back in.

She was having a really good time. There were two adorable little girls, sisters, showing Izzy how to have fun in the bounce house. The three of them were great. Then a bunch of rowdy boys showed up and it was absolute mayhem. The older girl was protecting Izzy from the roughhousing until I could get in there and pull her out. There was another little girl about Izzy’s age that I rescued while I was in the house. I have a feeling if Izzy sees one of these again, she’s going to scream to get in.

It was time to pick out pumpkins. I didn’t want any of the big ones from the patch. Not going to deal with carving this year, so I sat Izzy down while I looked through their smaller pumpkins and gourds. They had some really neat looking pumpkins. I wanted to take more photos, but my camera battery died.

Izzy has been incredibly affectionate lately. She picked up this ear of corn, cradled it and gave it a hug.

Here’s my selection of pumpkins and gourds.

I should have gone to bed hours ago. I can’t believe it’s 1:00 in the morning. I’m going to pay for it tomorrow when Izzy wakes up bright and early. I won’t be able to sleep in tomorrow because my friend Kevin is coming over to show me how to make homemade fresh mozzarella. A few years ago, we attempted to make cheese several times with one mildly successful batch. He took a class recently at Urban Kitchen and now understands where we went wrong on all of our other attempts. I’m so excited about the prospect of finally getting this thing done right!

Zest orange. Measure out 1 tsp zest (plus 2 tsp more for garnish) and set aside. Squeeze orange and measure out 1 tbsp juice. Set aside.

Shred carrots using large holes on a box grater. You should have about 1 1/2 cups. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together oil and sugar until combined, then add eggs, one at a time. Add flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and 1 tsp orange zest and beat until combined. Fold in grated carrots.

Spoon batter into lined muffin pan, filling half full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. If using miniature cupcakes , bake for 10-12 minutes; for miniature bundt pans, bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cook on a wire rack while making frosting.

To make frosting: in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer on low until smooth and creamy. Sift confectioners’ sugar over cream cheese and beat until combined. Add orange juice and beat until creamy.

Once cupcakes are cool, top each with a dollop of frosting and smooth it using a table knife or metal spatula. If desired, garnish each cupcake with a few sprinkles or orange zest.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and lightly knead into a ball. Dough will be sticky and may need to be sprinkled with more flour. With a rolling pin, roll out dough 1/2 inch thick. Flour a 1 1/2 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter and cut out as many scones as possible. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Gather scrapes of dough, knead together, roll out and cut out more scones. Repeat until dough is gone.

Bake scones until golden, 6-7 minutes. With a spatula, transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with oil.

In a mixing bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the butter and honey. Combine with a rubber spatula until all oats are coated. Mix in apricots and coconut. Heat 1 cup of water in a teakettle or saucepan until very hot, but not boiling. Add hot water 2 tablespoonfuls at a time to oat mixture, stirring after each addition with a rubber spatula, until oats become wet and sticky. You will not need to use all of the water. With wet hands, mix oat dough a final time. Dough will be sticky and loose.

In a small bowl, combine corn flour and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper. Add flour mixture and egg to vegetables and stir until just combined.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat oil. Scoop out large tablespoons of batter, form into rounded balls with wet hands and flatten in to cakes. In batches, cook cakes, turning once, until brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes total. Using a slotted spoon and letting the oil drip back into the pan, transfer to paper towels to drain, then placing on baking sheet in a low oven, to keep warm until all fritters are made.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat oil. Add turkey, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with oregano. Cook. stirring to break up the turkey meat, until turkey is no longer pink, 4-5 minutes. Remove turkey with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add leek, carrot, zucchini, green beans, and celery to pan. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Add cannellini beans and macaroni and simmer until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Stir in turkey and cook to heat through, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.